Drug cartels recruiting teens through video games, Mexican officials say

Mexican officials said that drug cartels are using multiplayer online video games to recruit teens, The Associated Press reported.

Mexico’s assistant public safety secretary Ricardo Mejía said Wednesday that a cartel recruiter has brought bus tickets for three boys between the ages of 11 and 14. 

The first boy was contacted by the recruiter two months prior, and later told his two friends about the opportunity. 

Mejía also said the boys met the alleged recruiter through an online game called “Free Fire,” adding the recruiter promised the kids $200 per week to work in Northern Mexico as cartel lookouts.

The suspected recruiter told the boys in a message they would like the job “given that you like guns and you will make a lot of money,” according to the AP. 

Authorities found the boys before they could board a bus in the southern state of Oaxaca, Mejía said. 

This comes as there have been documented attempts or drug cartels recruiting kids through the use of social media. 

Officials said that online gaming platforms give recruiters the opportunity to target young male youths who are fascinated with violent video games, the AP reported. 

Authorities also detained a woman who helped the boys use false identities to buy tickets to the northern city of Monterrey, the AP noted. 

According to Mexico’s Network for Children’s Rights data, an estimated 30,000 youths have recruited by drug cartels by 2019.